Paranoid Schizophrenia
by Transformersfan123
Summary: A one-shot of the experience of paranoid schizophrenia from the perspective of the emotions, especially Fear. Friendship between Anger and Fear at the end.


I didn't intend to make a mental illness series for Inside Out, but somebody said that more mental illness stories were needed. Here's my first attempt to make this into a series. Suggestions for other mental illnesses you'd like to see be done in this way can be left in the comments, or you can PM me. No guarantees that I'll make them, but if I get an idea for it, it could become a published story.

Let me know what you think! Enjoy!

* * *

It started with Fear. He began to take over the controls more often, and his reactions grew more erratic and extreme. Joy tried to regain her place, but Fear actually struck her, shrieking that there was no reason to be happy when everybody was out to get Riley.

When she sat up, a sickly purple handprint stained her cheek. Fright settled in her heart as time passed, and the purple began to take over her body. Sadness, Anger, and Disgust didn't know what to do with either of them, but they were loathe to touch them.

The room changed, getting a dark purple glow, and the color began to stain the feet of the other three emotions. Soon, the purple consumed them. That's when the shadows began to move. Things seemed different, and Mom and Dad started to worry.

Riley saw creatures that made them all tug at the controls as they tried to get her away from them. Fear, who had always been organized, began to formulate a theory when they saw patterns in the television programs. He was quickly convinced that some higher being was communicating with Riley, telling her the secrets of the universe.

Without consulting the others, he placed ideas in Riley's head, one after the other. Everybody else felt powerless to stop him, and the lack of resistance only encouraged him to continue.

Everything changed when Mom and Dad took them to a therapist. Fear's control had long been cemented, and he directed everything Riley said. To their surprise, the therapist talked civilly with them; anybody else they'd talked to had argued with them, calling them crazy.

The words that came out of the doctor's mouth confused them.

"She seems to have paranoid schizophrenia," he said. "We'll need to assess her further. She needs to be checked in."

Their days became blurs of fighting nurses who forced them to take medication that they knew was poisoned. After a few weeks, the purple in the room started to recede. Fear slowly calmed down, and the normal colors returned to their emotions.

When they felt normal again, they were confused by the ideas that they had endorsed with such ferocity. They seemed crazy, unnatural, and it scared them. The doctor explained the diagnosis, and he assured Riley that she could still lead a normal life, just with a few changes to her routine. Mom and Dad were so happy to see her calming down, acting more normal. Within a few more days, they were sent home with a few medications and instructions to take them religiously.

Fear had dream duty that first night back home, and he sat there, feeling as if everything was his fault. He didn't even watch the dreams fly by, too distracted by his self-loathing.

"Hey," Anger said from behind him.

"Go away."

"It's not your fault," the red emotion said quietly.

"I went crazy," Fear grumbled.

"You were sick," was the reply.

"Yeah, and I got everybody else sick. I didn't even know that emotions could get sick!" Fear exclaimed.

"I guess that's why it's called mental illness," Anger said, pulling up a chair and settling beside the purple being.

"What?"

"Schizophrenia is a mental illness. We live in Riley's mind, and the entire mind was sick. You just got it first."

"Yeah, then I passed it to everybody else!"

"You passed it to Joy. The mind got the rest of us sick. You weren't in control of the room changing. That's what got me, Disgust, and Sadness."

"I can't believe I acted like that!" Fear groaned, placing his head in his hands.

"It isn't your fault," Anger repeated. "The doc said something about genetics and psychological stuff, and the way Riley was raised."

"So it's Mom and Dad's fault?"

"I don't think it's anybody's fault, at least not knowingly, not directly, and certainly not on purpose."

Fear was silent for a few minutes, and the two emotions watched the dreams. They were shadows and red eyes, and they remembered seeing them vividly, though it seemed surreal.

"You gonna wake her up?" Anger asked gently.

"She's been afraid for too long."

"Paranoid is what the doctor called it," the red emotion replied. "And you're right. She won't remember this in the morning."

Anger got up to return to bed, and Fear turned to look at him. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Anger replied, then narrowed his eyes. "I mean it, Fear. Don't mention it. And stop blaming yourself."

When the purple emotion was left alone, he took a deep breath and relaxed, rubbing his temples. Anger was right, of course. It wasn't really his fault. And it helped knowing that the others didn't blame him. The rest of dream duty was him watching through half-lidded eyes as Riley's mind worked out the fear that she'd felt for the past couple months, and it didn't bother him nearly as much as it should have.

Things would be different, what with medication they had to take, plus the possibility of the paranoia coming back, but he didn't want to worry about that now. Riley had been too afraid for too long. For once, he would stay back and let the others guide her for a while. When the nightmares turned to dreams, he knew she would be alright. And that made him smile.


End file.
